✚7705✚ German WW2 Fire Police shoulder boards Feuerschutzpolizei Wachtmeister

Original German Fire Police Sergeant (Feuerschutzpolizei Wachtmeister) shoulder boards pair, VERY NICE CONDITION - NICE PAIR OF GENUINE AND RARE SHOULDER BOARDS

HISTORY OF THE AWARD:

FEUERSCHUTZPOLIZEI WACHTMEISTER'S SHOULDER BOARDS - On June 17TH 1936, Himmler was appointed to the newly created position of Chef der Deutschen Polizei im Reichsministerium des Innern, (Chief of the German Police in the National Ministry of the Interior), effectively giving him full control of all police agencies, including the Feuerschutzpolizei, (Fire Protection Police), within Germany. As a result of this appointment and the restructuring of all the separate German state police into a single national police force new regulations were instituted to bring about uniformity in dress for all police through-out the country. One of the new uniform regulations was the introduction of new style shoulder insignia and the introduction of specific Truppenfarbe, (Branch of Service Colors), to identify the assorted branches of Police service with carmine being allotted to personnel serving with the Feuerschutzpolizei, (Fire Protection Police). Police personnel wore the shoulder boards in matching pairs to indicate the specific rank with the base being in the appropriate branch of service color. Of Note: The July 1936 pattern Police shoulder boards for certain ranks underwent minor modifications in December 1939, July 1940 and April 1941 which also resulted in minor rank designation alterations. These modifications also resulted in a somewhat confusing, overlapping wear of insignia. Also Of Note: The German Police had no enlisted ranks with the lowest rank being an Unterwachtmeister which was equivalent to the German army rank of Unteroffizier. This example is a second pattern, (Circa 1936-1945), shoulder board representing the police rank of Wachtmeister serving with the Feuerschutzpolizei. Second pattern, (circa 1936-1945), slip on shoulder boards as introduced along with new uniforms in July 1936. The shoulder boards features dual, outer edge, bright, silver/aluminum Russian braid with evenly spaced, interwoven black "V"s, encompassing dual, inner, black braids, all mounted on carmine wool truppenfarbe bases.